The Other Half
by wordtypo
Summary: Conrad and Yuuri (Conyuu) as the soldier "accidentally" ends up on Earth
1. Unexpected Guest

**Recently my old obsession with Conrad has resurfaced... Only to have it become even stronger than ever before. Reviews are always welcome, also give me some prompts guys!**

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Yuuri was chatting with his friends, as they suddenly seemed to lose focus and look towards something beyond him. Before he could turn around, a pair of warm big hands covered his eyes, masking his vision. _Oh it's this game_. Slowly, he moved his own delicate hands up towards the other. Feeling the skin and the texture of the callused pair of hands. He would've recognized them anywhere... The only thing preventing him from yelling out the name of their owner was the fact that he was supposed to be in Shin Makoku right now, and not in Japan.

"Conrad?" he asked hesitantly and with a tint of surprise mixed in.

"Hai, haika" responded the man, as he removed his hands and dropped them down by his side. Waiting for the king to react to his sudden appearance in his hometown.

The young king slowly turned around, as if afraid that he'd disappear if he was rash. His eyes widened as he regarded Conrad in normal earth wear, and not his usual military uniform. Then the corners of his lips tugged upwards, and a rueful smile danced onto his face. Reaching out with his arms, he moved to embrace the soldier, to which the knight responded in kind, holding out his arms and welcomed him into the sweet embrace. Yuuri's face was buried deep in his chest, inhaling his scent- that of earth, grass and a tinge of sweat mixed together. God, did he love that smell, and suddenly, when a pang, he realized how achingly he missed his subject now that he was here in front of him. Slowly, Conrad pulled away, but not before gingerly kissing Yuuri's forehead, causing the king's face to suddenly reddened. Flustered, he started rambling, but a sudden swarm of daunting thoughts invaded his mind, and worried swept over him. Making him forget all about that kiss.

Conrad saw the frown that quickly formed on his king's face, a bit disappointed that he wasn't able to see his Yuuri lose his composure. He thought that the teenager was adorable when he did, and whenever he saw him like that, it took all of his willpower to not reach out and pull Yuuri into a bone crushing hug. He shoved away the disappointment as he began to anticipate the answers to Yuuri's unasked questions.

"Conrad, as much as I love the fact that you're here... Why are you? Did something happen?"

Thankfully, Conrad just shook his head and said "No, nothing happened, I was just mistakenly transported here by accident when I fell into the water."

The king breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't realize he was holding. However, that just made his more curious, Conrad was an extremely well coordinated guy, so much so that he was constantly envious whenever he could hold his own when he couldn't. In fact, he was pretty sure that any _normal_ person wouldn't have that level of uncanny coordination. So the question remained as to why he had fallen into the water. Seemingly understanding Yuuri's confusion. Conrad said that he jumped into the water when Wolfram had accidentally been thrown into the ocean when they were on a boat. The double black could just imagine the situation happening. Wolfram being the ever stubborn person he was, forcefully joined on a mission, even though he knew they would be traveling by sea. Being sick for most of the time, he would lean on the railings, but as the waves got rougher, the boat shook a little more and caused him to fall out and over, and Conrad, being the annoying do-gooder that he is, also jumped in to save him. At least, that was how the scenario played out in his head.

Little did he know, that Conrad didn't dive into the water to save his little brother, in fact there hadn't even been a mission of any sorts recently, much less were there any boats that were involved. No, Conrad had deliberately asked to be sent to Earth, solely because he sorely missed his dear king. Not that he'd ever admit to it. God forbid that he ever finds out his feelings for him. It was a sin that he was committing- having additional feelings than one that should exist between ruler and subject. In fact, he shouldn't have kissed his forehead. It was an impulsive decision, a mistake. He was just so imbued with happiness at the moment that he forgot his place. In fact, such actions seem to be happening more frequently as time passed. He was slipping, as if the rug was slowly being pulled out from underneath his feet. The young king hadn't noticed his real meanings behind his actions though, and probably interpreted as some sort of fatherly or brotherly affection towards him, and he willed it to stay that way.


	2. Dubious Introductions

**I wanted to try experimenting with different POVs... Hopefully I didn't do _too_ bad. I'm honestly really glad that you guys like this story. Reviews are always a treat! Please give me some word prompts for potential short stories I might do**

 **Also I'm sorry if my casual mentioning of God has offended anyone, I was thinking about changing it but I couldn't think of any other term/sentence that could convey the feeling behind it.**

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"So uh... Wanna introduce us? asked some confused team-mates with a perplexed countenance. The sudden sentence surprised Yuuri, who had been so consumed with his conversation with Conrad that he'd completely forgotten about his baseball friends. He laughed nervously, remembering the kiss on his forehead. _They wouldn't think anything strange about our relationship would they?_

"Right, sorry. This is Conrad guys, he's my-" Yuuri hesitated in the introduction. What was Conrad exactly to him? Officially speaking, Conrad was a soldier who had pledged his loyalty to the Makozu and to the Demon King. But what was Conrad to him personally? A _friend?_ No, Yuuri was certain that he was much more significant to him than simply a friend. This was the guy who had named him for Christ's sake; had countlessly put his own life on the line before in order to save Yuuri. He always took his greatest effort and precaution to ensure the young teenager's safety and well being. Honestly, Conrad basically felt like family to him, but the term still didn't seem right on his tongue. Yuuri recovered from his thoughts, sensing that his friends were staring at him and remembered that he still needed to give an answer.

"He's my... friend", stated a slightly hesitant teenager, the word sticky and unwilling on his tongue. He decided that their matter of relationship will have to be thoroughly contemplated at a later date. The other baseball players nodded expectantly at the reply, though their face's displayed a tinge of doubt due to the kiss.

Yuuri glanced at the soldier, taking a wishful peek at his expression. Unfortunately, what he found was the man's usual stoic self composed expression that the double black was so used to seeing.

...

Conrad watched with amusement as he curiously wondered what relationship the teen would introduce them as. The knight was glad; joyous even, that the double black had blatantly stated that he was considered a friend, but there was still a nagging feeling, a tugging of the heart strings. The soldier knew it impossible, but his heart still yearned for that improbable possibility that his king would introduce him as something more. When the teenager glanced his way, Conrad quickly schooled his expression into a blank canvas, one that didn't show his unyielding desire, and silently thanked those decades of military training that he once loathed.

"Hello, nice to meet you all"

...

Yuuri's friends responded in kind, but couldn't help feeling that they were intruding on something private. They inspected the mysterious stranger. Upon first glance, the man seemed normal enough, other than his striking features. The foreigner was of western origin, with almond brown hair and caramel eyes that sparked with a hint of silver within. He had a light grey buttoned up casual dress shirt, and was wearing some formfitting jeans. If closer examined, one would notice how he stood uncannily still. A stillness that was unnatural to the average person. Although the man couldn't have been much older than 20, his eyes gave way to something much more ancient. The baseball players wondered just how and when their friend had managed to befriend such a figure. After exchanging brief pleasantries, the friends gave one final glance between themselves, and concluded with just one single thought. _Lets get out of here._ With snickers and lopsided grins, the group of adolescents bid farewell to their captain and the westerner and hurriedly left the scene.


	3. Change

**Hey guys, it's been quite a bit since I've last updated... Sorry, it's been frantic with all the tests, quizzes etc etc. So hopefully you guys will like this update :)**

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Yuuri gave a quizzical look at his departing group of friends, a bit surprised at their sudden farewell, and worried that they might've gotten the wrong impression.

An awkward silence settled between the two of them, or maybe it was just Yuuri himself, that was uncomfortable with the lack of conversation. He squirmed a bit, searching for something, anything to say.

"Well," the king drawled, "I guess we should go too, the sun's going to be setting soon"

They both looked towards the sky. The bright and spherical ball of fire was indeed beginning to fall down below the line of green trees, casting dark shadows onto the cold pavement. The knight gave a slight nod of the head, and the pair of them began walking. They passed a neighbourhood with archaic buildings that were sporadically scattered, unlike the methodically planned landscapes of modern day. Most of them were worn down and out of repair. The paint that might have once been fresh and bright had long since faded away, leaving it chipped and dull. Plants have begun to settle into the small cracks of rock, giving the apartments an even more deteriorated visage.

"These buildings must've seen so much in their day, too bad the city's planning on tearing them down soon." Yuuri paused, a thought suddenly popping into his head, "Conrad, since you've lived so long, has the landscape changed a lot since you were young?"

The soldier was a bit taken back by the sudden question, but gave a small chuckle. The random questions were symbolic with Yuuri; it gave way to Yuuri's curiosity, which was a quality that revealed his youth. It was a trait that had long since disappeared from Conrad, along with the spark of curiosity within his eyes. All that used to remain in those caramel eyes was weariness, but ever since Yuuri entered into his life, a twinkle has sparked within those hazel orbs, radiating out a feeling of warmth to whoever saw.

The soldier tilted his heads towards the sky, seemingly recalling something from long ago. "In human territories yes, but since the Makozu live longer than humans, change takes place more gradually."

"But," his mouth forming into a pout "don't you ever feel sad, when you go back to a place, and it resembles nothing you once remembered it to be?"

Conrad looked at Yuuri, taking in the sight of his ruler. "A bit yes, but that's the beauty of change heika. Nothing's ever stagnant, even if you want it to be."

What a curious thing it was, to be able to be affected by a silly string of words strung together. Yuuri's nonchalant mood suddenly turned a bit sour. His knight in supposedly shining armor always seemed so unapproachable. What kind of answer was that? Yuuri knew that it was a good and logical answer, a meaningful one even. But the tone, the formality, the _way_ that he mentioned it, seemed to create a gaping distance between the two, a distance that Yuuri unremittingly tried to overcome, but for some reason Conrad would always shrink further away. He never let Yuuri in, never expressed his true feelings and thoughts; there was always an air of formality when he was with the king, a sense of distance between them that wasn't present when Conrad was with Yozak or his subordinates. That was something Yuuri greatly envied Yozak for.

 _Was he only a "king" to Conrad, and nothing more? Was he not good enough? Would Conrad prefer a better king, a more experienced master?_

The thoughts of doubt were seemingly never ending, always haunting the teenager at the back of his head, popping and interrupting his thoughts from time to time again. Yuuri knew that his thoughts were unreasonable; tried to brush them off as simply doubts about his own self competence. After all, Conrad would never put such dedication into someone, be willing to even _forsake_ his own life for a person, just because of obligation…. _right_?


	4. A Full Circle

Helloooo everyoneee (who is still following this story) nice to see y'all after THREE YEARS! I'm sorryryyr I have no excuse.

I'm so rusty now from not writing- I hope it's still okay. But anyways, the real question here is- are Yozak's eyebrows orange? Or are they brown? or are they an orange-y brown? *strokes non-existent beard*

Also, the plot here took a real 360! Because things were going a _little_ bit too smoothly if you ask me, and also because Yuuri is a pubescent teenager and he is prone to making rash decisions and allowing his emotions to get the best of him. Anywaaaays, I hope you guys enjoy this!

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Noticing the silence, Conrad looked down at Yuri a bit worried, "Heika? Is everything alright?"

"Yes! Of-course Conrad. You're here. Why wouldn't it be?" exclaimed Yuri quickly.

Conrad gave him a worried look, to which Yuri averted his gaze away from. The knight could tell that something was upsetting the king. Was it something that he had said? Something he had done? And the king seemed to be so happy seeing him just awhile ago too. He sighed; People might think that Yuri's an open book, but when he's upset, he tries to cover it up and pretend that he's fine. It's something that's greatly worrying and slightly agitating because he's supposed to be Yuri's protector and confidant- physically and emotionally. However, knowing Yuri's personality, Conrad didn't want to push him if the king didn't want to talk about it. Thus, the two companions walked together in silence for the rest of the trek back home.

"I'm home!" exclaimed the teenager after opening the door.

"Welcome back! Oh, Conrad's here too? How wonderful- I was just beginning to think that I had cooked too much for dinner!" replied the ever doting mother.

"Sorry for the sudden intrusion. Thank you for hosting me Jennifer," said the ever polite soldier.

"Oh no worries! You know how the saying goes, the more the merrier!" smiled Miko. After she got Conrad all settled into the house, she went back to the kitchen to check on the food.

"Hey Conrad, how long have I been gone for now?" asked Yuri, who wasn't in the mood to be alone with the knight right now.

"It's been 4 months and 2 weeks Heika."

"4 months? I've been away for that long?" breathed the weary king. Yuri glanced at Conrad-he didn't correct Conrad when the knight sayid "Heika" on purpose, wondering if Conrad would react.

Conrad simply nodded, giving away nothing more and nothing less. The king sighed. He wanted to go back- he missed everyone, and he didn't realize that he's been gone for so long. Of-course, he also wanted to escape from having to sit with Conrad alone until his dad and brother come home, which would take at-least another 2 hours. Yuri wasn't in the mood to be with the knight right now. He was tired of the distance between them, and he was tired of always having to ask Conrad to call him Yuuri.

Yuri jumped up from the couch, yelling across the room, "Mama, I'm going to go to the other world for a bit! I'll be right back."

"What? But what about dinner?"

"I'll be home before then! See you later! Love you," responded a hasty king, running upstairs to go fill up the bathtub.

Sploosh, splash, drip drip drip.

"Heika! I can't believe you left me all alone for so long." Greeted Gunter, who was trying to control his stream of tears.

"You wimp! I can't believe you took so long to come back! I hope you haven't been cheating on me with any of those earthlings." Fumed a certain blond noble, who was speed-walking towards Yuri at an alarming rate.

"Sorry I was away for so long, I didn't realize. It's good to see you again Wolf, and no, I haven't been cheating on anyone. I mean, even if I was seeing someone, it wouldn't be cheating because we're not even _really_ enga-

"What did you just say you cheating lying scum?!" yelled the very chagrined blonde. Looks like someone might have said the wrong thing. The next thing you knew, Wolfram had Yuuri in a headlock. Whether it was a playful one, or one that had the intention of suffocating the poor king to death, no one really knows. All that can be said is that the king might've passed out during that time.

Yuuri gingerly opened his eyes, only to see a certain someone sitting next to him.

"Yo, good to see you again boy," whispered Yozak.

Yuuri squinted, the sun temporarily blinding him. How did he get to the Demon Kingdom? Oh right... he had passed out from being put into a headlock.

"Hi... Yozak," croaked the teenager, not fully awake yet.

"Someone doesn't sound great... I wonder if it's because of puberty," pondered Yozak.

"Uh.. I don't think so" Yuuri responded, red in the face. Trying to change the topic, Yuuri inquired as to why Yozak was here.

"Oh, is someone missing the captain already? You two are insuff-inseparable, I mean. Don't worry, he'll be back, he was just called to fix a commotion that happened between two soldiers."

"No, I asked why are _you_ here?"

"Why to see how our lovely boy-king is doing of-course. Can a grown man not have the capability of missing someone? Or is that emotion looked down upon too for men," Yozak responded sarcastically.

"Heh.. I missed you too Yozak. It's always refreshing to see you."

A set of orange eyebrows jumped up at the king's comment, "refreshing you say? My, what a compliment. I do enjoy giving out glasses of cool water to people in the summertime."

Yuuri looked at Yozak, giving him a death stare, "...Are you secretly Conrad in disguise..."

"Nope! But I've been spending waaaay too much time with the captain." he remarked, "he's been a very lonely boy you see,"

Now it was the king's time to be surprised, "Are we even talking about the same person right now? Conrad? Lonely? But he's always so busy! Busy training soldiers and doing rounds and trying to win Wolfram's affections and making up bad puns and having to go on missions and going to help out old ladies with their groceries and politely rejecting young women's marriage proposals and and and-

Yozak held up a hand, effectively cutting Yuuri off from his ramblings. Well, I guess someone's fully awake now, thought Yozak. "You can be the busiest man alive, but it doesn't mean you're not lonely, heika,"

The words stunned Yuuri. First of all, he wasn't used to seeing Yozak be so serious, much less being so solemn. Second of all, those were some actually really deep words coming out from someone who's usually the jokester.

Yuuri rubbed the back of the neck, giving the soldier an apologetic smile, "You're right. Of-course. Sorry about that," said the king gingerly, feeling as if he's touched upon a nerve.

Yozak flashed Yuuri one of those goofy grins of his, clapping him (a bit too hard) on the shoulder. "Don't look at me with those puppy-dog eyes of yours! It makes me feel bad... like I just punched you in the stomach, kicked you while you were down, and then added in some insults to your mother or something."

"Aha... Right."

"Anyways, I need to go. There is never enough time in the world for this cross-dressing spy!"

"Bye Yozak! Thanks for visiting me!" exclaimed Yuuri, a bit sad to see him go.

The soldier waved his arm without looking back, and left the spacious room alone to Yuuri once again. Once the door was closed, Yuuri reflected on what Yozak had said. Conrad was lonely? It was kind've weird thinking that Conrad could feel emotions such as loneliness. His godfather was always putting on such a strong front- for the sake of the king- that it didn't occur to him that his protector might be the one that has been suffering all alone, all this time. A wave of guilt suddenly flooded his senses. I was upset at Conrad, for such a stupid reason... I brought him back here, just for him to work again. He could've taken a break on Earth instead and just relaxed! Yuuri smacked himself in the head repeatedly. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid king. I know, I should just bring him back to Earth again! Yozak said that he was sorting out a fight that broke up with two of his soldiers? So he's probably in the barracks.

After deciding that he was going to go back to Earth, he lept up from his bed, and scurried out the door, hurrying to go find his knight.


End file.
